Increasing evidence indicates that sleep deprivation (SD) can exert multiple negative effects on neuronal circuits, resulting in memory impairment, depression, and anxiety, among other consequences. The long-term effects of SD during early life on behavioral phenotypes in adulthood are still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the long-lasting effects of SD in adolescence on social behaviors, including empathic ability and social dominance, and the role of the gut microbiota in these processes, using a series of behavioral paradigms in mice combined with 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. Behavioral assay results showed that SD in adolescence significantly reduced the frequency of licking, the total time spent licking, and the time spent sniffing during the emotional contagion test in male mice, effects that were not observed in female mice. These findings indicated that SD in adolescence exerts long-term, negative effects on empathic ability in mice and that this effect is sex-dependent. In contrast, SD in adolescence had no significant effect on locomotor activities, social dominance but decreased social interaction in male mice in adulthood. Meanwhile, 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing results showed that gut microbial richness and diversity were significantly altered in adult male mice subjected to SD in adolescence. Our data provide direct evidence that SD in youth can induce alterations in empathic ability in adult male mice, which may be associated with changes in the gut microbiota. These findings highlight the long-lasting effects of sleep loss in adolescence on social behaviors in adulthood and the role played by the brain–gut axis.

越来越多的证据表明，睡眠剥夺 (SD) 会对神经元回路产生多种负面影响，导致记忆障碍、抑郁和焦虑等后果。早期生活中的 SD 对成年期行为表型的长期影响仍知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们利用小鼠的一系列行为范式结合16S rRNA基因，研究了青春期SD对社会行为（包括共情能力和社会支配力）的长期影响，以及肠道微生物群在这些过程中的作用。焦磷酸测序。行为分析结果显示，青春期的SD显着减少了雄性小鼠在情绪感染测试中舔舐的频率、舔舐的总时间以及嗅探所花费的时间，而在雌性小鼠中没有观察到这种效果。这些发现表明，青春期的 SD 对小鼠的共情能力产生长期的负面影响，并且这种影响是性别依赖性的。相比之下，青春期的SD对成年雄性小鼠的运动活动、社会支配力没有显着影响，但减少了社交互动。同时，16S rRNA基因焦磷酸测序结果显示，在青春期接受SD治疗的成年雄性小鼠的肠道微生物丰富度和多样性发生了显着改变。我们的数据提供了直接证据，表明青年时期的 SD 可以引起成年雄性小鼠共情能力的改变，这可能与肠道微生物群的变化有关。这些发现强调了青春期睡眠不足对成年期社会行为的长期影响以及脑肠轴所发挥的作用。